Contents

In the comic

Volume 2

In "Misdemeanor", Dom Drago overhears police officers talking about having stolen Zib's money while Zib is in a holding cell. Zib had intended to use the money to post bail for himself and Virgil. Dom tells Zib that he would be unlikely to find a judge to arraign him before the holiday weekend, but that he will get his money back provided it is on the level, the latter statement making it clear that Dom is superior to the cops. Dom notes, in "Revenuer", that it is peculiar that Zib would have a large amount of cash given his appearance; Zib notes that he has a job as a saxophone player. That statement leads Dom to ask Zib whether he works for Marigold. Zib seems to be surprised by the insinuation that he works for a gin joint, but Dom asks where else a saxophone player would find employment; Zib concedes the point. Dom then notices Zib's Lackadaisy pin and seems almost amused, referring to Lackadaisy as, "the vanquished empire", and expressing surprise that it would still be in business. Zib claims that he is a gambler and the pin represents his preference for clubs, though he goes on to note that it has not been lucky for him lately. Dom tells Zib his name and that he works for the Treasury Department, and that he will overlook Zib's particular circumstances because he has larger targets currently before departing.

Profile

Dom was born on June 21, 1890, in Austin, Texas. Before becoming a Prohibition agent he served as a detective. He is skilled at assessing others' characters, and enjoys pipe-smoking and hunting.[1] Dom is of above-average intelligence.[3] He is married and has a family, though he seems more interested in his work.[4]

Human

Backstage

Regarding Dom's name-

Early on, I was toying with names like Dragonetti and some of its variants, but they didn't have the right character. I don't really know how to coherently explain names having character - phonemes just carry certain connotations, I guess. Anyway, I ultimately settled on Drago because it sounded a little more serious and to the point.
Drago is an old Italian surname derived from the word dragon. I thought the corollary was fairly obvious, actually...although not necessarily implying anything about the personality of the characters so much as the adversarial nature of his station. His first name I chose because it's also Italian, because its attenuated form Dom seemed to have a sort of simple confidence about it, and because there's a dash of righteousness in its full form, Dominic.